Nine Snow Monkeys Escape from Oregon Animal Testing Lab

Nine monkeys escaped from an Oregon Health & Science University animal testing lab after a cage was left unlocked. Four were shortly re-captured and four others have been spotted on campus — but one has entirely eluded authorities.

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“One of our cage cleaners accidentally left a lock off a cage,” said Jim Newman, a university spokesman. “The cage was closed; however, the animals were able to slide the door open and get out.”

The university has faced increasing scrutiny for their primate testing program from animal rights groups, but it’s clear that their escape was not aided by activists. They simply wanted out of their cages and took advantage of an unlocked cage.

Newman said that humans should avoid the five remaining snow monkeys, which weigh between 20 and 50 pounds each, but noted that these particular monkeys had not been tested on and pose little risk of spreading disease.

[via Fox 12 Oregon]

Photo Credit: peyri on Flickr under Creative Commons license.